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Chinese Paintings
includes a gallery with an explanation of each painting

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
has an online collection of Chinese paintings and other art

To paint a picture that possessed a quality of life could not be accomplished by just any painter, but one who had that divine innate quality. The variety colors helped to give paintings that breath of life, particularly Buddhist art. Wang Wei, one of the eminent painters of the 8th century, once said, "The wind rises from the green forest, and the foaming water rushes in the stream. Alas! Such painting cannot be achieved by physical movements of the fingers and hand, but only by the spirits entering into them. This is the nature of painting." Wang Wei (699-759 A.D.) was not only a brilliant painter but also a talented musician, scholar, and poet that was well known for his landscape pieces and portraits of Wang-ch'uan, his country manor.

Painters of the High Tang should be acknowledged for their perfection of landscape painting and the use of bright blue and green colors. Two such painters are Li Sixun (651-716) and Li Zhaodao (670-730) who were father and son and both high officials of the imperial government.

Yan Liben (600-673) was one of the greatest painters of the Tang dynasty who worked his way up the social ladder to one of the highest positions in the government, the Prime Minister of the Right. He was also the main court painter for three reigns, starting his career in Taizong's imperial court (627-649). "Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy", also known as Bu nian tu. It is one of Liben's famous paintings depicting the meeting of Emperor Taizong and Ludongzan. (The first king of Tibet who was infatuated with Princess Wencheng from China and built her a palace to live in. In 641 he sent Ludongzan to China to accompany her back to Tibet to be his queen.). Yan Liben is most famous for the "Scroll of the Emperors." Both of the above named paintings show subordinate servants smaller and the main figure larger than normal. This style was a characteristic of the 7th century painters. Like all artists of the imperial court Liben was asked to paint scholars, generals, deities, and foreign diplomats.

Other great painters such as Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang are famed for their paintings of rich women. Zhang Xuan of the early 8th century is attributed for his portraits "Ladies Preparing Newly Woven Silk" and "Lady Guoguo on a Spring Excursion." From the late 8th century, few of Zhou Fang works have survived, but he is known for his style that bears no quality of action in his figures. Wu Daozi's (active 710-760) life and paintings were the exact opposite of Zhang and Zhou Fang. He began as a poor young orphan who made his way to the top as leading court painter, however, none of his paintings exist, but he made himself a niche in history through his reputation as later critics admired him for his ability to portray life in his paintings.

Other famous artists included Wu Tao-tzu (born around 700 A.D.), who painted three hundred frescoes throughout his life and Chou Fang and Chang HsÜan, who earned fame from paintings of ministers, concubines, and foreigners.

Based on critics from preceding dynasties, Li Ssu-hsÜan and his son Li Chao-tao created the "northern school" of landscape painting that used the precise line technique and colors when painting. Professional painters mostly practiced this style. Utilized by amateurs, Wang Wei founded the "southern school" that used a po-mo, or broken ink, technique accompanied by little or no use of color in their graceful landscape paintings.

Did you know...
More freedom in art came about towards the end of the Tang dynasty where flinging and splashing ink came into style.